RTG TransEvo: 14 Doctoral Positions

Jul 05, 2019

14 Doctoral Positions within the Research Training Group 2501 on Translational Evolutionary Research (RTG TransEvo)

Evolution is the central theory of the life sciences. The core objective of the RTG TransEvo is to study and promote its key relevance to applied problems. Unintended outcomes of human intervention often result from actions that influence natural selection. For example, the usage of antibiotics or anti-cancer drugs in medicine, of pesticides in agriculture, or human perturbation of the earth's ecosystems directly change natural selection and thereby affect the evolution of organisms. Therefore, the development of sustainable solutions to such emerging challenges can only be achieved by explicit consideration of the influenced evolutionary processes. Yet, to date, the translation of evolutionary concepts to applied problems is only rarely attempted. In turn, the required experimental tests in these areas have the potential to further advance evolutionary theory – to the mutual benefit of translational and basic research. Thus, the overarching aim of the RTG TransEvo is to train two main competences among doctoral candidates: On the one hand, the use of knowledge and concepts from fundamental research in evolutionary biology in order to enhance our understanding of current challenges in applied fields and, on the other hand, the use of the novel insights obtained in order to enrich our understanding of evolution. The RTG TransEvo will promote the translation of evolutionary thinking into three applied fields: (i) medicine, (ii) food production, and (iii) wildlife conservation.